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Itinerant Metal Dealer’s Licence

Licence summary

If you act as an itinerant - or travelling metal dealer - you must be licensed by your local authority.

Such a licence will allow you to sell scrap metal anywhere in Scotland.

Please note that this licence runs on a 3 yearly basis, which at present is 1st July 2018 to 30th June 2021. The current fee for a 2-year licence from 1st July 2019 is £320. The fee is then reduced by a third on 1st July each year.

Fees

Contact details

Eligibility criteria

An itinerant metal dealer’s licence is required by any travelling scrap merchants. This type of licence enables them to trade anywhere in Scotland. Please note that separate licences are required for metal dealers, second-hand dealers and itinerant metal dealers, and if a person carries on more than one type of these activities he will require more than one licence.

In order to make an application you must not be disqualified from holding a licence, and you must be fit to be the holder of the licence.

The vehicle you use in order to carry out the work must be suitable for that purpose.

You must not have applied for the same licence within the last year, unless there has been a material change in your circumstances since your last application.

Metal Dealers – Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015

From 1st September 2016 all metal dealers and itinerant metal dealers are required to comply with detailed new rules. Paying cash for scrap metal is prohibited. New record keeping and identification of customer requirements is also in force. If you already hold a current metal dealer’s licence, you do not have to apply for a new licence. However you will be subject to the detailed new requirements. Full details of the legislation can be found at www.legislation.gov.uk/asp2015/10/contents

The Application process

We will:

send a copy of the application to Police Scotland

place a notice on the local authority office notice board which states the applicant details contained in the application, that any objections or representations may be made to ourselves, and how they should be made

keep a register of applications in which we will enter the receipt of the application, our final decision and reasons for the decision, the details of the terms of each licence granted and a note of any suspension, variation of the terms, or surrender, of a licence

The register must be available for inspection by any member of the public at reasonable times and places and any member of the public must be allowed to make a copy of it. A fee will be required for this service.

Where we fail to make a decision within six months of the application, the licence is held to be granted or renewed.

Appeals

If you have made an application for a licence and it has been refused

You may ask us for the reasons for our decision to refuse your application within 21 days of the decision date.

You may appeal to the sheriff against the decision, within 28 days of the decision, as long as you have already followed any available procedure to state your case to ourselves.

The appeal will only be successful if the sheriff considers that we, in making our decision, had:

erred in law

based our decision on an incorrect material fact

acted contrary to natural justice

exercised our discretion in an unreasonable manner

You may then appeal on a point of law from the sheriff's decision to the Court of Session within 28 days from the date of the sheriff’s decision.

Appeals - Licence Holders

Appeals against the refusal of an application must be made to the Sheriff Principal of North Strathclyde, Paisley Sheriff Court, St James Street, Paisley, PA3 2AW.

You may appeal if we decide to suspend a licence, not to renew a licence, or not to consent to material changes to the premises or vehicle used in the course of a licence holder's work. You may appeal against the decision within 28 days of being notified, as long as you have already followed any available procedure to state your case to ourselves.

The appeal will only be successful if the sheriff considers that we, in making our decision, have:

erred in law

based our decision on an incorrect material fact

acted contrary to natural justice

exercised our discretion in an unreasonable manner

You may then appeal on a point of law from the sheriff's decision to the Court of Session within 28 days from the date of the sheriff’s decision.

Objections or representations

Objections or representations relating to a licence application may be made in writing to the licensing section, within 28 days of notice of the licence application being given, stating:

the grounds of the objection or nature of the representation

the name and address of the person making the representation

Police Scotland, or anyone who has made a relevant objection or representation regarding the licence, may appeal against a decision within 28 days of being notified, as long as they have already followed any available procedure in terms of stating their case to ourselves.

The appeal will only be successful if the sheriff considers that we, in making our decision, had: